Play by the Rules

In Play by the Rules, acclaimed writer and historian Michael Pembroke offers a fresh take on the USA's vast influence and asks whether it is still a force for good. In the heady days after 1945, the authority of the United States was unrivalled. But seventy-five years later, its influence has already diminished. The world has now entered a post-American era defined by the rise of Asia and the return of China, as much as by the decline of the United States. This book is a short history of that decline; how high standards and treasured principles were ignored; how idealism was replaced by hubris and moral compromise; and how adherence to the rule of law became selective.Play by the Rules is also a look into the future a future dominated by greater Asia and China in particular. We are in the midst of the third great power shift in modern history from Europe to America to Asia.Washington's failure of leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating history.